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31 March 2014

A Place to Put Opinions When Others Are Annoying Me

Hobby Lobby. It's not about abortion, people. It's about whether corporations can have religious beliefs that are protected under the first amendment. I cannot see why anyone would think this is a good idea. Of course you don't have to work for a company that has religious beliefs, but I for one am grateful that government has mandated coverage for things like pre-existing conditions and adopted children. If we're going to stick with a system as stupid as employer-provided health care, we can at least make sure there are a few rules governing it.

I think gay marriage is logical and inevitable. If most Americans don't have a problem with it, then I don't think the laws can or should stop it. Since I see absolutely no evidence that there is any reason to worry that any church will not be allowed to decide who does and who does not participate in its private ceremonies, I just can't get worked up about gay marriage one way or the other. There are much, much bigger issues out there that I wish we'd focus on.*

Also, I do not think it's a violations of anyone's religious rights to not be able to deny service to someone whose lifestyle they don't agree with. Taking photos of a gay couple's wedding does not say anything about the photographer except that that person was hired to take photos. Get over yourself or realize that you can't run a business in the US if you want to pick and choose who you're willing to offer your services to.

Don't wear shoes in my house. I don't care if you think I'm a bad host because of that.

Ordain Women. I'm conflicted here. I share many of their concerns, but I don't think that ordination will solve most of those concerns. And I think focusing specifically on ordination leaves out a huge number of women who aren't willing to go that far but who aren't happy with the status quo. So I can't quite support them, but I am a cheerer-oner. That makes no sense, I know.

People ask me why we don't have a maid. I tell them it's because we all work together to clean the house. End of conversation. But there's a whole lot more to the reason why I don't hire household help. And at the risk of offending expats who've found my blog, here are the rest of the reasons.

I think people should clean up after themselves unless they are unable to. Being wealthy enough to hire someone doesn't make you incapable of cleaning a toilet.

It's generally only women with a low socioeconomic status who would work as a maid. I don't care to reinforce that. I understand and support the idea of providing someone with a job, but no one would choose to clean bathrooms for the rest of their lives unless they had to. There are other ways to help people get out of that life.

Too many maids are exploited. While there are many, many good employers out there, I chose to stay away from the system.

I hate, hate, hate having someone else in the house with me. I cannot fathom how introverts deal with household help.

Don't tell me your maid is like family. I don't know anyone who makes one family member clean all the nasty parts of the house with no help. You may like her, you may be friends, you may care about each other a great deal, but you're not treating her like family.

And don't complain about your maid to me.

There are, of course, many good reasons to hire help. I think it's a good choice for many families. We actually had someone come in for 2 hours a week to clean our apartment the first time we lived in Bishkek. But it's just not what I choose (and I'll only judge you if you tell me they're like family or if you complain about them).

Now I feel better.

*Edited to add a little clarification. I think gay marriage is logical and inevitable legally and socially. My church will not start performing gay marriages, but I don't think that my opinion on whether God favors gay marriage has much to do with whether or not gay marriage should be legal in the US. I don't think that the moral opinions of a minority should be the guiding factor in creating US law. Gay marriage has also moved from the moral realm into the legal and social realm. It is becoming a civil rights issue. Opposing it will soon be as much of a problem for the opposer as it is to oppose interracial marriage. This is part of why I think the opposition needs to tone down. Everyone knows who opposes gay marriage. The message is clear on both sides. So lets focus on things we can actually change.

1 comment:

(Especially this: "I just can't get worked up about gay marriage one way or the other. There are much, much bigger issues out there that I wish we'd focus on.I just can't get worked up about gay marriage one way or the other. There are much, much bigger issues out there that I wish we'd focus on." YES.)